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b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] Hebron: The Linguistic Search for the Patriarchs' BronzeAge "Hebron"

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  • From: <pporta AT oham.net>
  • To: <JimStinehart AT aol.com>, <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Hebron: The Linguistic Search for the Patriarchs' BronzeAge "Hebron"
  • Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2008 07:55:03 +0200

I do not deny that in words that are not geographical place names, a WN
ending is not a suffix meaning “place”. But I continue to assert that in
geographical place names, -WN is a routine, generic suffix that means “place”. One
of the important things about that is that in trying to determine the
underlying meaning of a geographical place name such as “Hebron”/XBRWN, the –WN ending
can usually be ignored completely. (“Hermon” may be a rare exception to
that rule, but that is a controversial case.) In most cases, one simply lops off
the final WN, and then looks at what is left as being either the root, or as
being a prefix + root, to which the standard –WN suffix has been added,
meaning “place” in a geographical place name.

In particular, I see the –WN at the end of each of “the Sharon (Plain)” and “
Hebron” as meaning “place”. Do you have a different analysis of either of
those two geographical place names?

Jim Stinehart

_____

Jim,

Let us take the English "Liverpool", a city noun.
Its literal meaning is "the pool of liver", namely a pond or puddle of the important body part that is called "liver".
It is a name having its own meaning which has then been applied or given to a particular town.
It is the same thing for suffix -WN.
Suffix -WN has a range of meanings:
-a noun that means the fulfilment of the basic concept
-a diminutive of a noun
-an adjective
(If you're interested, I can provide samples of each)

But, generally speaking, it has not the meaning "place".
So HEBRON means "(the) fulfilment of the friendship" and "SHARON" means probably "(the) fulfilment of the song" (shyr = song) the same as "SASON" means rejoicing, gladness (Psa 45:8) (sys = rejoice).
Now, once we have the noun that ends -WN.... then we apply it to cities, persons and so on.

-Shim'on, Simeon, ------- applies to persons (Ex 1:3)
-and Shimron applies, as you say, to a person (Gn 46:13) and to a place (Js 11:1) as well.

But... of itself or by itself... the suffix -WN does not mean "place" (and this is the point where I think you're mistaken). The truth is that sometimes a noun ending -WN is given --or was given-- to a particular place (or to a human or to an animal or to a thing...): in itself it bears no meaning of "place".

My best regards.

Pere Porta
Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain)





But... maybe could we say that every noun ending -pool is a city noun?






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